Heritage alliance aims to conserve, preserve, restore

A NEW Ballarat Heritage and History Alliance (BHHA) has been launched.

Representatives from 14 community organisations with a heritage and history focus met recently at the Old Colonists’ Club to discuss networking and collaboration to serve their collective goals.

“The suggestion [to meet] came up at one of our Heritage Watch meetings,” said convenor, Ballarat Heritage Watch president Stuart Kelly.

“We mulled it over for a while then collected a list of groups we thought might be interested.

“The idea was to form an alliance with no formal structure or fees for membership, but which would enable each of the member groups to reach a wider section of the public.

“It would open opportunities for collaboration between groups on campaigns and projects.”

Represented at the meeting were genealogical groups, historical organisations, the National Trust, Save Civic Hall and a mixed group of museums.

“We formally launched the Ballarat Heritage and History Alliance at the meeting,” said Kelly.

“The purpose of this alliance is to enable mutual support and information sharing amongst the participating groups, while also contributing strength through numbers on issues related to conserving, preserving and restoring Ballarat heritage and history.

“Such cooperation will be essential as Ballarat’s increasing population brings pressure for development with potential adverse impacts on our heritage buildings and streetscapes.

“If I have missed any groups, I would ask them to contact me so we can add them to the alliance listing.”

An online petition, Save Ballarat’s Heritage Heart, was also launched on Change.org.

“The petition is an example of how the BHHA can collaborate, with the meeting attendees being invited to spread the word,” said Kelly.

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